Smart Case, August 1, 2002

08/01/02 | Jolly Green

[Jolly Green]

Time Line
04/01/01	Sunday	Ricci burglarizes a Smart neighbor's home taking various items.
06/05/01	Tuesday	Ricci steals items from the Smart home while he is employed there as a handyman. Ricci is charged in July of 2002 of 1 count of theft related to the Smart incident.
05/30/02	Thursday	~ Ricci returns to pick up his Jeep at the auto repair shop before the shop has a chance to fully fix it He tells the repairman that it needed for an emergency.
06/04/02	Tuesday	~ Ricci is at work from about 9am to 5:30pm ~ Ricci claims he spends the evening with friends
06/05/02	Wednesday	~ 1:05am - 2 cars are spotted on the SLC Shriner's Hospital Parking Lot by a hospital security guard, two blocks from the Smart residence ~ 1:30am (approx) - Elizabeth is kidnapped from her home ~ 1:30am - Ricci claims to be in bed asleep with his with wife. ~ Ricci is scheduled to be off work all day today. ~ 7:21am - Rachel/Amber alert is issued and national media is involved. ~ 8:30am - Ricci and his neighbor talk about the kidnapping of Elizabeth, Ricci seems to know too much information about it. ~ Sometime during this day Ricci is visited by police in regards to Elizabeth's kidnapping as reported by Angela Ricci (Richard A. Ricci's Wife which is an ex-convict herself) ~ Ricci is seen by his neighbor digging a hole by his (Ricci's) trailer early in the morning. (heard the neighbor say this on TV)
06/06/02	Thursday	~ Ricci is scheduled to work from 9am to 5:30pm today, but instead works from 10:30am to 7:00pm ~ Police talk to Ricci this day about the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. (The media is reporting this, so it could be wrong)
06/08/02	Saturday	~ Ricci returns the Jeep to the repair shop to get it fixed. The Jeep is muddy and the repair shop owner sees Ricci remove seat covers from the back of the jeep and place them into a plastic garbage bag that already contains other stuff in it. Also the repair shop owner said a muddy post hole digger was in the back of the Jeep, Ricci removes this also. Ricci has a man waiting across the street to give him a ride. Ricci takes the plastic bag and contents along with the post hole digger with him. Also there is 500 to 1000 extra miles on the Jeep since Ricci picked it up on May 30th, 2002.
06/14/02	Friday	~ Ricci is taken into custody for a parole violation, this being drinking while on parole and association with other ex-cons.
07/11/02	Thursday	Formal charges are filed against Ricci (2 counts of theft & 1 count of burglary) on the theft & burglary of the Smart neighbors home which occurred in April 2001, and 1 more count of theft for stealing from the Smart home on June 6th, 2001.
Special thanks to Brigette for starting this timeline.

[Jolly Green]

Wild-Eyed Speculation, Half-baked Theories and Myths
Theory(?)	Facts
Richard Ricci has been identified as the prime suspect in the case, though several of his "theme park" pals are under suspicion.	- Ricci is a 5-time loser, having been convicted of burglarizing a food bank and shooting a police officer. He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including theft at the Smart residence and burglary of a Smart neighbor. Additionally, he has been recently indicted on three federal charges related to two bank robberies. - Ricci worked for the Smarts last year for several months and was paid with a white Jeep in lieu of cash. He had full access to the house and may very well have had a key to the Smart residence. Ricci and two others were fired when some items were stolen from the home. Ricci later approached Ed Smart and said he wasn't involved and wanted his job back. Ed Smart declined to rehire him. - Ricci lives in a trailer park in West Jordan that is now referred to as a "theme park" because of the large number of Ricci convicted felon friends living there. - Ricci has no credible alibi for the period during and shortly after the abduction. He is believed to have put an additional 1000 miles on the Jeep during a period when he claimed the Jeep was in Moul's shop. Moul also reported that Ricci removed several trash bags, the seat covers and a post hole digger and carried them across the street. - Ricci had both opportunity and motive.
Ed Smart and Richard Ricci were gay lovers. This is based upon Ed Smart's pleading before the media for Ricci to come clean, where he used phrases like "Help me, Richard".	This theory was eloquently refuted by Jengaio and it hasn't reared its ugly head recently.
Elizabeth Smart had a nose ring, must have been rebellious and ran away. Later, proponents shifted emphasis to "piercings".	Numerous photographs of Elizabeth Smart show no indication of a nose ring and the existence of a nose ring has never been reported by any credible news source.
Moul, the mechanic, lied to the grand jury and in TV interviews. Some of the scenarios: He knows more than he is telling; his eyesight is bad; he made it up; he is in cahoots with Ricci; he used Ricci's Jeep without Ricci's permission.	Moul has no criminal record and no motive. What's more his vehicle logs corroborate his testimony. If Moul had "borrowed" the Jeep, he certainly would have washed it to remove the bugs, mud and pine needles.
Elizabeth Smart's aunt, in a televised interview said the police "are working with us". Implications: This surely must mean that the Smarts and their influential friends and church must be controlling/thwarting the 100-man SLCPD/FBI task force	We will ask Jengaio to analyze the phrazing.

Motive	Possible Suspect	Details
Kidnapping	All	- The SLCPD has said there has not been any credible ransom demands. This may be due to the massive search and media blitz within 5 hours of the abduction i.e. the perps may have realized that their chances of getting caught were very high and they decided to get rid of the evidence.
	Ricci & cronies	- Ricci and his colleagues have recently been indicted for several Utah bank robberies, each producing only a modest amount of cash i.e. $1800 split 3 ways. It is likely that they were looking for a bigger "score".
	Unknown	N/A
Burglary	Ricci	- Ricci has five previous convictions for theft, burglary, and assault (shooting a police officer). He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including burglary of a Smart neigbor while they were sleeping (a M.O. similar to the Smart kidnapping) and theft of the Smart home. He has also been indicted on three federal charges including two bank robberies. - The Smarts, like most people, wouldn't keep large amounts of cash around. It seems likely that a simple burglary would not produce much in the way of cash or jewelery. - The SLCPD has said some things were taken but haven't identified those items.
	Unknown	N/A
Burglary Gone Wrong	Ricci	- The Smart perpetrator may have been surprised by Elizabeth Smart and decided to remove the only witness.
	Unknown	Same as above
Sexual Predator	Ricci	- Fox News reported Ricci had attempted an "inappropriate relationship" with one of his old girlfriends 16 yr old daughters.
	Unknown	N/A
Revenge	Ricci	- Ed Smart wouldn't rehire Ricci even though Ricci claimed he had no involvement in the theft of the Smart house.
	Unknown	N/A
Runaway	Elizabeth Smart	Unknown possible motive
	Unknown	N/A

Significant Links
Date	Title	Comments
06/05/02	Police search for missing girl after alleged kidnapping	The man is described as white, with dark hair and wearing a tan denim-type jacket, a white baseball cap. He is about 5 foot 8 inches tall and was very soft-spoken, the sister told police.
06/06/02	Rachael Alert's initial test	The "Rachael Alert" notification went into effect at 7:21 a.m. Wednesday, about 3 1/2 hours after police were notified that Elizabeth Smart, 14, was apparently kidnapped at gunpoint from her home in an affluent Salt Lake City neighborhood around 2 a.m.
06/09/02	Still no key leads; vigil held	The younger girl has not been able to clearly describe the man, telling police only that the kidnapper carried a small black gun and was about 5-foot-8, white, with dark hair, and dressed in a tan denim-type jacket and white baseball cap.
06/09/02	Girl's family clings to hope Mom says, 'We won't stop until you're home'	Elizabeth's father said he still can't believe he slept through it all. "I can't understand how I didn't hear something," Edward Smart said. "When my kids get up at night I usually hear them." Some family members say Elizabeth's parents were too exhausted to be able to hear anything that night. They'd just buried Lois' father on Monday after a monthlong death watch. Elizabeth had played the harp at her grandfather's funeral.
06/16/02	Sister reported the abduction relatively quickly Wait was quite short for child, an expert says	Certified forensic psychologist Gerald P. Koocher said it is remarkable the child notified the parents as soon as she did. Koocher, dean of Health Studies at Boston's Simmon's College and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, pointed out that in other scenarios such as sexual abuse, a child will refrain from telling on or speaking about the incident for years if there is a threat to hurt other members of the victim's family.
06/19/02	Salt Lake police come under fire in kidnapping investigation	"We aren't telling you everything we know about the investigation, and we aren't going to until we're further along," Dinse said. Louis said there is no composite sketch of the abductor because the 9-year-old was unable to sufficiently describe his facial features.
06/26/02	S.L. police say convicted felon is at top of their list	Elizabeth's father, Edward Smart, said during his daily briefing with the media Tuesday he hired Ricci after he was referred to him by another contractor. But he was unaware of Ricci's criminal history. "I had absolutely no knowledge of his background whatsoever. I would never hired him had I known that. I would never have exposed my family to that, " Smart said. Ricci was at times "undependable," but "never in my wildest dreams would have imagined his background," he said. Smart also said that Ricci "seemed nice and could be very personable at times." Ricci left on good terms with the family, according to Smart. But he declined to comment on reports that Ricci had stolen jewelry from the Smart home. Police said Ricci was fired after the Smarts reported some items had been stolen from their home but he was later hired back because there was no evidence to link him to the theft. Smart also said he could not think of any reason why Ricci might want revenge on him.
-6/27/02	Angela Ricci Goes On the Record	VAN SUSTEREN: Why do you think as early as the 5th of June, which would probably be about 12 to 18 hours after Elizabeth disappeared -- why was your mobile home searched? RICCI: Because Richard is on parole. He did work for Mr. Smart, and he had also boughten (ph) a vehicle from him.
06/28/02	Items confiscated from Ricci's kin Tan cap, knife taken by police; relatives back him	At 5:30 p.m. June 8, Ricci took his car to Net Moul for minor repairs. Moul describes Ricci as an easy-going person who is normally pleasant to talk to. But not on that day. "He didn't even look me straight in the face. He was not in a good mood," he said. "He seemed more frustrated. I figured he must have had a problem. Something was up." The Cherokee was caked in mud as if it had been four-wheeling, Moul said. Newspapers lined the floor of the vehicle as if someone were taking precautions to keep it clean. But when he tried to joke about it with Ricci, he got no reply. Moul saw two seat covers lying behind the Jeep's back seat. Ricci put the seat covers in a plastic bag, grabbed a post-hole digger that was in the Jeep, and walked to the sidewalk in front of the auto shop near 3500 South and 4500 West, Moul said. Ricci waved to a man who was at the gas station across the street. Ricci told Moul the man was waiting to give him a ride home. The man was Caucasian, had dark hair and was about 5-foot-8, Moul said. Ricci went back to his Jeep and grabbed a second bag out of the vehicle and took it with him. The bag was full, but Moul said he couldn't tell what was in it. What also caught Moul's attention that day was the odometer. Ricci had picked up his Jeep May 30 after having a fuel line fixed. Between May 30 and June 8, Moul estimated between 500 to 1,000 miles had been put on the car.
06/28/02	Hair samples collected in missing girl case	Moul said Ricci was a regular customer who typically joked around, but seemed to be in a bad mood that day. "I was trying to play a joke with him -- I saw his car and said, 'What, you just come back from the mountain and play in some weeds?' but he did not respond," said Moul. "He didn't even look me straight in the face." Before returning the car, Moul said Ricci parked it across the street from the shop and removed covers from the rear seats. Ricci threw the covers into a large plastic bag, removed a post-hole digger from the Cherokee's hatchback and apparently disposed of the items, Moul said.
06/30/02	Handyman denies taking Jeep before girl abducted	The handyman being investigated in the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, 14, has denied removing his Jeep from a repair shop days before she was kidnapped, a senior law enforcement official said.
07/04/02	Police Plan to Interview Another Ex-con	Police indicated yesterday that they also planned to talk to 44-year-old John Russell Remington, who with Ricci and Young did repair work last year on a house about two blocks from the Smarts' residence. Remington has been in jail on aggravated robbery and bank robbery charges since November third. Remington's lawyer, Steve Killpack, said his client was in jail the night of the abduction, and had never worked in the Smarts' home.
07/05/02	Abduction Investigators Question Sex Offender	In all police are now questioning four ex-convicts in the case and a fifth man who may have been with Ricci when he returned the SUV to the repair shop.
07/08/02	Kidnap Cops Interviewing Repairmen	The men are: Richard Ricci - who has already denied involvement and has been under heavy media scrutiny; Douglas Rex Young, called "an associate" of Ricci's, who is being held on a parole violation and was interviewed on Tuesday; and John Russell Remington, who has been in jail since November on bank robbery charges.
07/11/02	Richard Ricci Formally Charged	While police chief Rick Dinse says these theft charges show a "connectivity" to the Elizabeth Smart case, Ricci has not been charged with her kidnapping. "If I could’ve charged him I’d charge him. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything linking him to the case, I’m not saying that. If I could charge him and prove it today we’d file on it today," said Dinse.
07/12/02	Father: 'I can't help but feel that he's involved'	Smart said he had gone "the extra mile" when he sold Ricci the vehicle, allowing him to pay it off while Ricci worked for Smart at $8 per hour over seven or eight weeks. But Smart ended the relationship a year ago when he discovered that money, jewelry and other items had been taken from the family's home. After the theft, "Richard came to me, face to face. He said, 'Ed, I want you to know that I did not take it,' " Smart said. "I said, 'Richard, I appreciate that, but I want you to know that I can't have anyone in my home right now, that with this violation and not knowing who took the items, I just can't have you back in my home."
07/15/02	Police at stalemate with adamant Ricci	Police, however, say Ricci, 48, has not provided a suitable explanation for why the Jeep Cherokee he was given in exchange for his work at the Smart home had an extra 500 to 1,000 miles between the time the vehicle was picked up from a repair shop May 30 and returned June 8. The shop's owner, Neth Moul, has told police and the Deseret News that Ricci picked the Jeep up May 30, but Ricci denies doing so. "He's saying he didn't, the shop owner says he did. Ricci just denies any knowledge of that. He doesn't know what we're talking about," Salt Lake Police Capt. Scott Atkinson said Monday. Investigators have called Moul a credible witness, noting he doesn't have any reason to lie.
07/19/02	Another twist in Smart story Police say Kearns woman's story is losing credibility	Ricci remains the key figure in the search for Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped more than six weeks ago. Police say there are holes in his alibi. But Ricci has maintained he had nothing to do with the girl's abduction. The biggest question for investigators is the whereabouts of Ricci's white 1990 Jeep Cherokee between May 30 and June 8. During that time, Ricci allegedly put between 500 to 1,000 miles on the Jeep's odometer.
07/20/02	Police Doubt Ricci Was Spotted in Wyoming	Police have said Ricci, 48, is on the "top of the list" of potential suspects in the 14-year-old's June 5 disappearance. Police say they cannot verify his alibi for that night -- that he was home with his wife -- and they are not sure where he was between May 31 and June 8. Ricci maintains his innocence in the abduction.
07/24/02	Katie Couric Boylan Interview on NBC	Complements of Neenah. See post #74

[Jolly Green]

Ping

[Iwo Jima]

I'll reply here to your post from yesterday's thread.

My theory (and apparently yours) is that Ricci is guilty of something but the question is what? I am convinced that he is not "the" perp (this being a multi-perp situation) who entered the house to take Elizabeth.

Seeing Ricci in court led you to think that Ricci could match tbe description of the perp which we have been given. First, his height seemed to fit. I can only say that about a week ago someone posted that they had seen his wedding photo and that unless Angela is less than 5 feet tall, which is not the case, Ricci is much taller than the perp. Maybe someone can fill us in on that.

You said that the golf cap would hide long hair better than a baseball cap. That's probably so (I've never worn one of those caps), but I did not know that Ricci had long hair until I saw him in court. The picture which has been shown of him did not have such long hair. At first I thought "Boy, his hair has really grown while he's been in jail," but then I thought "Nobody's hair grows that fast." Which means he had long hair on the date of the kidnapping.

Which brings us to what I see as a curious point.If Ricci had long hair and he was the perp, why wasn't his long hair a part of the description? Well, as you say, the cap might have hidden it. But maybe not. Maybe some longhaired poster can get one of those caps and tell us if you can hide your hair under it.

I do see Ricci's letting his beard grow and his hair grow longer as an attempt to disguise his appearance. But from whom? If he's the perp, from MK. But if he's just a co-perp, then maybe from someone who might have seen him while he was riding around in a white jeep days after the kidnapping.

Before you saw Ricci in court, did you know that he had long hair? If so, how? Just curious.

[JudyB1938]

I really do appreciate your starting a new thread every day. But it sure would be nice if you'd make a separate thread out of the timeline, with a link to it on each thread. It really is so long. And growing. :0)

Just a thought.

[Sherlock]

I don't know that Remington was the kidnapper but I won't be surprised if it was. However there's a strong chance it is Ricci. They did find the hat, the polo shirt, and the pants. He was the gutsy one that went into the bank and going into people's houses is his MO. He knew he was going back to jail soon, his parole officer had found out he wasn't in the drug program and told him he was going back to the slammer soon if he didn't quit. We don't know how much hostility he might have felt towards Ed Smart for firing him, especially if he had to come over a few months later and give him several thousand dollars he would rather spend on drugs to get the title for the Jeep. And who knows how much in hock he was to his dealer. The fellow in the white Honda might have been in the neighborhood when the milkman saw him because he was obsessed with ES and he may have made a final payment to Ricci in the Shriner's Hospital parking lot to go in and get her for him.

[Iwo Jima]

Did we ever establish whether or not Remington was in jail on the date of the kidnapping? Or any decription of him? If so, I missed it.

Ricci is messed up, that's for sure. But I find it hard to see why he would be so stupid as to keep the clothes which he would have worn, among other screwups. I'm still going with the theory that someone else is the abductor and yet another person is the mastermind.

Did you know that Ricci had long hair? Or am I the only one who missed that?

[Bella]

Did you know that Ricci had long hair? Or am I the only one who missed that?

http://export.msnbc.com/news/762343.asp

Here's a current pix of him. What a difference when he has it combed back instead of hanging all over his face! Sorry I don't know how to post pix on this board.

Even if he had his hair back like it is, he couldn't have worn that cap they have, even if he had his hair in a pony-tail.

[Pistacio]

Right click on the pic from

http://export.msnbc.com/news/762343.asp

and you get the address of the pic and measurements.

http://export.msnbc.com/news/1553994.jpg

< img src="insert address here it should end in jpg or gif" height="200" width="240" >
then remove the spaces that I put between the <> you may also need to adjust measurements to fit here at freepers, as I have done here.

[JudyB1938]

[Pistacio]

HTML Bootcamp

Here you go

[FR_addict]

Isn't Ricci almost 6 feet? The guy next to Ricci looks about the same height. David Smith must be huge man or Ricci is shorter than I thought.

[Bella]

Thank You!

[sandude]

We have a new amber alert in California this morning. Two teenage girls were abducted at gunpoint from the cars they were parked in with their boyfriends. The boys were tied up and the abducter took the girls with him. This happened in Quartz Hill which is about a half mile from my home. I haven't found anything on the net yet but it has been broadcast on Los Angeles television and radio stations.

[L84AD8]

Jolly Green, Thanks for the feed-back yesterday! I should state that I haven't ruled out Ricci as being a part of the kidnapping. There are too many facts pointing to the possibility that he was involved. But, I think there is more to the story. Lots more. As the former Detective on Fox News pointed out yesterday, 'it keeps leading back to the family'. (paraphrased) As for my lame theories, I posted a few that were common in SLC, that I found on a ex-Mormon, Recovery board. Kinda like a recovering alcoholic chat room. Lots of interesting insights on that board. I shared a few. Since LE has no answers yet, I think we should look at all possible scenarios, don't you? In answer to your statement that Ed Smart was/is not a mortgage broker, I give you this article, from the Meridian, a LDS publication. There is a quote from Dave Smart about Ed Smart's mortgage business. I thought it was common knowledge that Ed Smart was also a mortgage broker, in addition to holding a Real Estate license. ** Smart family relying on faith Granddad extols civic outpouring of love and help By Patty Henetz Associated Press staff writer Every day for three months, Lois Smart took her children to visit her bedridden father. The kids, with a work ethic impressed upon them by their parents, kept the lawn mowed and planted a flower garden for their granddad. Media representatives quiz Sheriff's Capt. Jim Strong about the search in Emigration Canyon. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Myron Francom died at his home in Holladay last Saturday, leaving nine children and 51 grandchildren. On Monday, granddaughter Elizabeth Smart played the harp at his funeral. She played "Silent Night" because Christmas, when all his large clan gathered together, was her grandfather's favorite time, and that was his favorite tune. Two nights later, a gunman crept into Elizabeth's bedroom and took her from her devoted LDS family, so devastating Lois Smart that she now finds it nearly impossible to speak. Thursday morning, Lois Smart appeared on the "Today" show, uttered a few words and fell apart. "She didn't even have time to mourn her father. She has a broken heart. She cries 24 hours a day," her brother Mark Francom said. "She said to me, 'Why would he pick my home?' " Lois is the second-youngest of eight siblings; her husband Ed is the second-oldest of six. Their six children range in age from 3 to 15. The Francoms have lived in the Salt Lake area for three generations. The Smarts' roots stretch back to Charles C. Rich, one of Brigham Young's 12 apostles. Rich ran the Winter Quarters camp in Nebraska in 1846-47 during the Mormons' pioneer trek to the Salt Lake Valley. Lois and Ed Smart married 16 years ago, when both were in their late 20s, after meeting at a church function for young adults. "That's where the spark was kindled," said David Smart, one of Ed's brothers. Ed Smart has built two businesses, Smart Realty and First National Mortgage. Described as "a real entrepreneur," Ed bought houses, fixed them up and sold them. He was just finishing up a remodeling project on his current Federal Heights home, listed with a $1.19 million asking price. The children helped with the remodeling by cleaning up after the workers. The Smart children are all musical. Elizabeth and her sister play the harp. Their brothers play piano and the banjo. Musical shows are always part of family gatherings. They had picnics in their grandfather's back yard and mountain weekends in the family cabin in Brighton, a Wasatch Mountain ski resort. Family clearly is their center of gravity. "Lois is like the mother hen, guarding her chicks," David Smart said. "They'd always be picked up from school. Not left. They were always well-trained, very responsible," Mark Francom said. "That's the thing that's so diabolical. That man couldn't have picked a mother more devoted," Francom said. "Even he, in his perverted way, couldn't have imagined what this has done to her." The Smart family wants to talk to reporters because they believe the attention will help their search. But they adamantly shield their children, particularly Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister who the abductor terrorized into two hours of silence before she went to her parents to tell them what had happened. Highway Patrol officers use helicopter to search Emigration Canyon. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News "We are trying not to talk to her about this, so the pressure's not on, so she's not rethinking this over and over, to help reduce the trauma," David Smart said. The family's ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints run deep. On Wednesday, President Gordon B. Hinckley called Charles Smart, Elizabeth's grandfather. "He said, 'Charles, we're sorry for your trouble. We remembered you in our prayers in the temple. Is there anything else we can do?' " Smart said. President Hinckley's son, Richard, led the prayer meeting at the Federal Heights Ward Wednesday night. An estimated 300 people turned out. "I thought we would have 30 people," Charles Smart said. "A lot of people there weren't members of the church." On Thursday, 100 LDS missionaries turned out to help search along with more than 1,000 other volunteers. On Thursday, church leaders issued an unusual official statement that expressed concern for Elizabeth, called on her abductor to release her unharmed and "welcomed" church members to help with the search effort and bring comfort to the family. Thirty hours after Elizabeth's disappearance, her family was out in force at the Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City, headquarters of the massive volunteer search effort to find the 14-year-old girl. A $250,000 reward for her safe return had been posted. Volunteers have spread out across the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains and the streets of Salt Lake City. "It's about the most exciting testimony of civic volunteering and love," Charles Smart said. "We are completely consumed by this," said Francom. "Every passing hour is just really hard to take." The family fasted and prayed all day Wednesday, Francom said. Their thoughts turned to Elizabeth's abductor. "Many prayers have been given (in) hope he would soften his heart," Francom said. "That is what we hope will be his lesson. That she with her bright, beautiful smile will come back to us." "We have our faith," added Laurie Francom Warner, one of Elizabeth's many cousins. "God is the most important person on our side." Above article from the Meridian

[Bella]

FOX just had an interview with the boyfriend. He was blindfolded and tied to a pole.

[FR_addict]

"We are trying not to talk to her about this, so the pressure's not on, so she's not rethinking this over and over, to help reduce the trauma," David Smart said.

It sounds like it was the family's decision not to question MK about the kidnapping according to David Smart and not the police. According to all reports, it was the family's decision not to allow Boylan to interview MK originally.

[L84AD8]

I think you are right, FR_addict! We don't know if it was Tom Smart, who seemed to be in charge, in the beginning, or if it was the entire family. I would say, Tom talked down Klaas and by extention, Boylan and convinced the family not to use the sketch artist back then. Too bad, it may have helped.

[Bella]

The Smart's will be taking some criticism again if they get a pix of the guy who kidnapped the teens in CA on the airwaves.